Today I have signed into law H.R. 5011, the "Military Construction
Appropriations Act, 2003," which provides $10.5 billion for Department
of Defense military construction and family housing programs. The Act
ensures the Nation's military construction priorities are met and
provides the resources and infrastructure for our fighting forces at
home and abroad. My Administration is committed to improving military
housing and the quality of life of our uniformed defenders and their
families, and this bill clearly reflects that commitment.

Sections 107, 110, and 113 of the Act provide for notice to the
Congress of relocation of activities between military installations,
initiation of a new installation abroad, or U.S. military exercises
involving $100,000 in construction costs. The U.S. Supreme Court has
stated that the President's authority to classify and control access to
information bearing on national security flows from the Constitution
and does not depend upon a legislative grant of authority. Although
the notice can be provided in most situations as a matter of comity,
situations may arise, especially in wartime, in which the President
must act promptly under his constitutional grants of executive power
and authority as Commander in Chief while protecting sensitive national
security information. The executive branch shall construe these
sections in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional
authority.

Section 119 provides for the Secretary of Defense to submit a
report to the Congress with details of proposed actions to encourage
certain cooperating nations to assume a greater share of the common
defense burden. The executive branch shall construe this provision in
a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to
withhold information, the disclosure of which could impair foreign
relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the
Executive, or the performance of the Executive's constitutional
duties. The Secretary of Defense will, of course, continue as a matter
of comity to keep the Congress appropriately informed of the matters
addressed by section 119.